Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese will join Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk on Wednesday to confirm the completion of the machine's work after just six months.

Joyce was tunnelling the project's northbound lanes, which run from Toowong to Kelvin Grove, and Cr Quirk said it had removed 500,000 cubic metres of rock and dirt - the equivalent of 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools – from under Brisbane.

Cr Quirk said the project team would now work around-the-clock to remove Joyce from the worksite so the tunnel's mechanical and electrical fit could begin.

The second tunnel boring machine, Annabell, is expected to break through in June.

Mr Albanese described the rate of progress, which saw Joyce excavating an average 150 metres per week, as “nothing short of incredible”.

The bulk of funding for the Legacy Way tunnel is coming from the council, while the federal government committed $500 million to the $1.5 billion project.

The tunnel is scheduled to open by March 2015, though the latest development could see that date brought forward.